Arisa "Ari" Niagato/History
Parents' Love Story Ari's parents came from two different families. Her father was a middle-class, not much money with his parents working from paycheck to paycheck just to support their family. However, Hirota was happy in his life. Once he was old enough he got a job to help their family stay afloat. He was a hard worker, mostly working small jobs. He found his true passion when he got a job working in a small restaurant. He started as a dishwasher but eventually moved up to a waiter. It was then when he started learning how to cook, and his dreams of becoming a chef and owning his own restaurant came to life. Ari's mother, Cassandra, was born in America into a rather wealthy family. Her father was a highly regarded doctor and her mother was a real estate agent. Cassandra had an older brother, Ari's uncle. Her father got a job offer for a hospital in Japan, and accepted so the family moved to Japan during Cassandra's high school years. She graduated high school and started her time as an art student in college. During her college years, Cassandra went to the restaurant where Hirota worked. She fell in the moment she met him, and they quickly bonded. Cassandra and Hirota began dating not long after, and they were both incredibly happy. Hirota's parents adored Cassandra and Cassandra's parents loved Hirota. They had their fights, but the two of them were happily in love. Cassandra graduated from school, though Hirota never attended college. When she was done, Cassandra said that she wanted to travel the world and learn more about art. Hirota was worried about costs, but Cassandra's father promised to fund their trip. Hirota and Cassandra set off on their journey, going from country to country to learn and experience something new. They traveled all over, to America, Canada, Germany, England, Italy, France, China, India, Australia and many more countries. In each country Cassandra would study the art, but Hirota would study the cuisine. He learned so many authentic recipes, vowing to make each of them the correct way. Their final destination was France, where Hirota proposed to Cassandra in front of the Eiffel tower. She nearly broke out in tears as she said yes. The couple returned to Japan with the news and both their parents were delighted. They worked together to create a beautiful wedding for their children, and the two had a wonderful ceremony to celebrate their powerful love for each other. The gift from Cassandra's father was the purchase of a small building for Hirota to start his own restaurant. He couldn't believe his eyes when he first saw the building, he was so incredibly grateful for everything he had found since meeting Cassandra. He started his restaurant, named Made With Love, promising authentic cuisine from all across the world. It started out a small time restaurant, where Hirota could show his cooking and Cassandra could show off her art. Not many people showed up, but those that did spread the word about his delicious food. As time went on, the restaurant became more and more popular and the couple had gained a steady income. Businessmen came to visit them, asking to open another restaurant in various locations all over Japan, promising to follow the recipes to a T. Hirota was anxious at first, but Cassandra urged him to expand his business and he did. Made With Love chains began popping up all across Japan, and eventually in other countries. Hirota found himself born a poor kid, but now a rather wealthy businessman. He was incredibly happy, and loved what he was doing. The original restaurant stayed in its original location, small and beautiful with Hirota as the main cook and Cassandra as the hostess. In the restaurant's prime, Cassandra became pregnant with their first child. Hirota was over joyed with the news and wanted nothing more than to raise his child the best way he possibly could. Nine months later, Miyana was born. She was rather spoiled as a kid, and had an instant love for all things beauty. She loved her father's cooking and learned to draw from her mother. Her interests, however, were always drawn towards beauty. When Miyana was 10, Cassandra became pregnant with their second child and after nine long months, Ari was born. Hirota and Cassandra had built a wonderful business and a beautiful family, and their love story had started a new chapter. Early Life Ari was an easy baby, she didn't cry much and mostly slept. As she grew up she kept her quite personality, being an incredibly shy kid when attending school. She was initially sent to public school for her elementary years where she made a few friends, but none that lasted permanently. Hirota and Cassandra experimented in sending Miyana to a private middle school. She flourished in the school, making life-long friends and getting excellent grades. She was then sent on to a private high school (not Ouran Academy). Ari was sent to the same private middle school, but her experience was drastically different. Middle School Ari was incredibly upset that she wouldn't be going to school with the friends she made in public school, but she embraced her new school with an open mind. It was clear from day one that the kids at her private school were eccentric and confident, something that Ari never was. She never found the words to talk to anyone, and kept to herself. She would go from class to class staying quiet, not speaking unless someone spoke to her. She faded into the background of her school and was certain that no one there even knew her name. Her first year went by without much incident, but the lack of friends was starting to get to her. She felt invisible, and despite her mother's and sister's encouragement to make new friends, she never found the courage to speak to someone. Towards the beginning of her 2nd year at the school, Ari encountered a group of 3rd year girls. She bumped into one of them, causing her red drink to spill all over her white uniform. Ari was incredibly guilty and apologized multiple times, but the girl was furious. She began yelling at Ari and her friends piled on. They insulted her for not having any friends and called her a freak. Ari ran out of the dining hall in tears. These girls were not done with Ari, however, and it began a long year for Ari. They found her the next day and continued their verbal assault. Ari had nothing to do but listen as they cornered her. Eventually the verbal bullying turned physical. They would push her, pin her against walls and throw things at her. The leader of the group told Ari that if she told anyone then she would have her father completely ruin her family's restaurants. Ari stayed silent and let the bullying continue. Everyday she was terrified of going to school, and would constantly fake illnesses. Her grades dropped and she shut herself off more than ever. Hiding in her room, crying and tending to the bruises that would appear. It didn't end until the near end of the school year when Miyana noticed a large bruise on her arm, She was outraged and told their parents immediately. Ari begged them not to do anything about it, but they didn't listen. They took it to the school board, and the girls were punished but not expelled. It was revealed that their parents actually had to no power to do anything to Ari's family, and it was only a scare tactic. Ari refused to go back to school with the girls and was transferred to a separate private school. She continued her quite, reserved schooling but actually had students talk to her and be friendly towards her. Ari was still wary, and only considered them friends because they spent 5 days a week together. The Accident In Ari's final year of middle school, towards the end of the second term her parents went out for a date night. It was snowy outside, and Ari and Miyana spent some time at home watching movies and having fun. As the night came to a close, their parents had yet to return and the two daughters were worried for their parents. Eventually, Miyana sent Ari to bed so she could get up for school but the older sister continued to worry. Miyana fell asleep watching TV, but was woken at 4am by a phone call. She answered as a police officer told her there was an accident. Her parents had been caught in a snowstorm and driven off the road due to ice. Both had been killed on impact. Miyana cried for an hour after the call ended, trying to figure out how to tell Ari. Eventually, she went into Ari's room and woke her. The two were torn apart by the death of their parents and cried countless tears. Ari didn't go to school that day as the two had to deal with what they would do next. Their uncle offered to take them in, but Miyana didn't want Ari to have to go through another change in school. So Miyana said that she would care for Ari and she was deemed her sister's legal guardian. In their parents will, the ownership of the restaurant was transferred to their uncle and Ari and Miyana got a substantial amount of money to help them get by. In addition, their uncle sends them part of the restaurant profits every month, which is usually a large amount. Ari stopped going to school for almost a month, unable to force herself to get out of bed most days. She was completely destroyed by the death of her parents. She stayed like this for weeks until she realized how stressed Miyana was. Working, cooking and doing everything to keep Ari afloat. She felt incredibly guilty, knowing that her sister was just as hurt. She got up and spoke to her sister, together they shared a long talk and promised to always be there for each other. Ari was terrified to return to school, and made the drastic decision to cut her hair off. She returned to school with a new outlook on life and short hair which shocked her classmates. She continued her final year of middle school, struggling to stay strong despite the constant pain she felt. She finished middle school with good grades, and was ready for high school. She knew that her father always wanted his daughters to attend Ouran Academy, so in order to fulfill her father's wish, Miyana and Ari enrolled her the school. Enrolling in Ouran Academy Ari passed the entrance exams and worked on the enrollment papers with Miyana and was quickly accepted into Ouran. Ari and Miyana went to the school together on her first day, and it was discovered that they were running low uniforms and had no female uniforms that would fit her. Ari was okay with this and told her that a male uniform would be just find if they allowed it. She was given the uniform and looked exactly like a boy, even Miyana commented on it. Ari didn't care, and began her classes. All of her peers mistook her for a boy, and several girls commented on how cute she was. Ari was flustered by this but continued to keep to herself and maintained her usually silent days. Joining The Host Club Tamaki Suoh noticed that a lot of girls found Ari attractive, and was looking for another member for his newly formed Host Club. He and Kyoya approached Ari after school and dragged her to the music room where she was introduced to the rest of the club. She was terrified and overwhelmed at first, wanting to run away. Tamaki encouraged her to try it out and sat her down with a bunch of girls. The girls thought her flustered speaking and red face were adorable, and as she spent time talking to the girls she actually began to enjoy herself. She wasn't sure of the Host Club, but she started having fun. She actually agreed to join the club, despite her fears. She also hadn't revealed that she was a girl, but they didn't seem to care. As Ari was walking between classes, Kyoya stopped her. He told her that he had done a background check on her only to find that there wasn't an Ari Niagato who attended Ouran Academy, only an Arisa Niagato. Ari said nothing, only listed as Kyoya told her she wouldn't be able to stay in the Host Club as he feared what would happen if the guests found out. Ari didn't argue, but she was genuinely heartbroken about it. She thought she had finally found a place to belong, but she knew it was too good to be true. That day while the Host Club was in session, Kyoya realized how many girls that Ari had brought in, and how many wanted to see her. He knew they would lose some guests if Ari didn't stick around, so he found her again and explained that he had acted too soon. Ari quickly realized Kyoya's true intentions, but she honestly didn't care. She just wanted to stay in the Host Club, she returned and finally found true friends and was delighted that she finally had a place to belong.